Battle of Arendelle
by MangaArtfansTwin
Summary: Join Queen Elsa and Princess Anna as they step up to defend their Kingdom and home from an invader none other than the Southern Isles.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, they belong to Disney.**

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Prologue

No one saw it coming. Not the Queen, not her advisors, not the Princess, not the Captain of the Guard, no one.

Yet there they were, stationed just at the opening of the fjord, as tangible as the mountains under the afternoon sun. The proud battleships stood tall and shoulder to shoulder, acting as a barricade and prohibited any escape. The flag of the Southern Isles could be seen on every mast as it flapped against the strong winds.

A messenger came later in the evening, carrying a letter from the youngest Prince of the Southern Isles; Prince Hans. To say that the Queen was shocked would have been deeply under-exaggerated, seeing that she nearly froze everyone and everything within the room they occupied once the messenger announced the name. In the message, it gave a warning. Stating that if Arendelle did not surrender, it would be a declaration of war and the Southern Isles will attack.

Almost immediately after the letter was read, there was uproar, courtesy to the Princess, who reacted in the most aggressive, yet understandable way: by throwing a chair across the room and shouting at the top of her lungs the disbelief she felt. Had it not been for Arendelle's Ice Master and Deliverer, the Princess would have lunged at the messenger. The advisors shared the Princess's livid emotions, saying that what the letter was complete and utter nonsense, and argued that it was the Southern Isles that declared war once they entered the threshold of the fjord with their battleships. The messenger, on his part, simply argued that he was following his orders and awaited their response, if no response was given, the Southern Isles would attack anyways.

The Queen stood regal and silent as the bickering took place and only when all heads turned to her did she give the final response: Arendelle would not surrender.

At first thought, one would say that her choice was foolish. Arendelle's navy was strong, but when compared to the one they saw in front of them, it was obvious that the scales were tipped a bit towards the Southern Isles. But the Queen knew that if she were to just surrender her kingdom, her citizens will never forgive her. Yes, she might be saving countless lives by surrendering, but who is to say that they will be treated fairly and justly after the surrender? Who is to say that they will not be prosecuted and miserable?

When the Queen made her decision, it was not to save face. No, she made that decision because she knew that her citizens would rather die than surrender to a nation as despicable as the Southern Isles.

And thus, Arendelle readied her ships, capable men volunteered and the rest, such as women and children, were taken to a safe location.

The Battle of Arendelle had begun.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or its characters. They all belong to Disney.**

Chapter 1

Three days later…

In the candlelight, Queen Elsa stared at the map of Arendelle spread out in front of her, red imprints scrawled along where the fjord was supposed to be, indicating the sunken ships of the navy; her navy.

"Out of the five ships that we have started out, two are already beyond repair, slowly sinking…" one of her advisers dabbed his bald head with a napkin as he spoke, "If this keeps up, I do not know how long we will be able to hold the defense line."

"I had anticipated the odds to be against us, seeing that we were outnumbered eight to five," another adviser spoke, this one wringing one end of his mustache with a gloved hand, "but the time it took for their battleships to destroy ours… in no less than a day…," he shook his head in disbelief, "It is terrifying."

"Indeed." The Captain of the Guard nodded, "Prince Hans came here very well prepared."

At that, the Queen stood and walked toward one of the open windows in the meeting room; the window that overlooked the fjord. In the night sky, the water absorbed the darkness, making the fjord seem almost invisible. The only thing that showed otherwise was the light that glowed from within the battleships atop the water's surface, and the small fires that could be seen on the ones slowly sinking. Even against the midnight blackness, Elsa could still make out the smoke rising like tendrils as the two ships of Arendelle slowly descended below the fjord, yet the other three stood their ground. Determined to give as much defense as possible with what they still had, unwilling to give up. Such was the faith her people had for her and their Queen.

"Your Majesty?" it was Kai who had spoken, concern heavy in his voice as he watched Elsa gaze out the window, hoping that the sight beyond did not demotivate her. But when the young Queen turned to face the people within the room, her eyes shone with anything but demotivation.

"Captain," Elsa addressed the Head of Guard, "what is the current situation of our soldiers?"

Said captain cleared his throat once before answering, "As our current reports state, the capable men are being transferred aboard the other three ships and the injured are being brought back to Arendelle for treatment."

"Yes, but the report also states that there is a heavy number of injured, and that we might not be able to transfer all of them back before the ceasefire ends." Yet another adviser spoke, adjusting his thick glasses as he read from the piece of paper he had in his hand, the wariness was evident in his voice.

Elsa took a deep breath and looked out once more, where many young men with families were risking their lives to defend their home. The long shadows cast across the room due to the flickering candlelight made the atmosphere all the more somber.

"How long before the ceasefire ends?" the young Queen asked.

"Approximately six hours from now," came the reply from the Captain.

Elsa nodded, and then turned to her advisers, "Gentlemen, I believe it is time, don't you?"

"Your Majesty?"

The room grew silent as her words were processed in the minds of the older men, then once the realization dawned; their expressions grew to the ones of worriment.

"With all due respect, your Majesty." the third adviser –the one with the glasses– spoke, "If you are implying what I think you are implying, that would be unwise."

"So you have said three days ago, and I understood. Our enemy's weapons were still unknown to us then and riding out would have been reckless." Elsa walked to where the adviser sat, "But now, after what you have seen, why is it still unwise? How many more men do you want injured? How many more ships do you want sunk?" the questions were meant as challenges, and she made sure he heard them as so.

"It is because of what we have seen that I think it unwise!" He stood, scraping the chair back and towering the Queen by half a head, "As the Captain of the Guard had said, Hans has come here very well prepared. It is almost certain that he deliberately sunk those ships so you would ride out and save the men, and when you do that, he will strike." He paused, the continued the next line in a grave tone, "And Arendelle will fall."

"You doubt my abilities?" Elsa felt her eyebrows narrow slightly.

"I meant no such thing, your Majesty." The adviser took a step back and bowed his head a little, showing that he had meant no disrespect toward his Queen.

"Queen Elsa." Kai spoke, walking to where the two monarchs faced each other, "Forgive me, but I believe I may have to agree with Advisor Oddvar on this subject."

"And why is that?" Elsa kept her voice flat, but even she could not fully conceal the betrayal she felt as it made itself known through her eyes. Something the Head Steward immediately took notice of and quickly voiced his reasons.

"Because I believe what Adviser Oddvar says is true. We can all agree that Hans is a very cunning man, seeing that he had fooled us all once before." Kai cleared his throat as undesired memories began to fill everyone's mind, "And he knows how much you care for your people. Hence, he most likely destroyed those ships as bait to lure you out into the open; if you were to get captured… or worse… Arendelle will fall, not because we will lack the necessary troops, but because we will be too grief-stricken to fight."

A few murmurs of agreement could be heard in the silence of the room as the occupants waited for the young Queens response. Elsa, on her part, contemplated on the words spoken by her personal servant/ adviser, mentor and loyal friend.

"Besides," Kai continued, "Do you not remember what you told us?"

Elsa took a deep breath in, then let it out, "I do remember." She answered as the memory replayed itself in her head.

It was on the day Arendelle supposedly declared war on the Southern Isles, and as the messenger made his way back to deliver their response, the Captain of the Guard voiced out the suggestion that perhaps Elsa could make an army of snowlems to assist them in the oncoming war, only to have the Snow Queen herself smile sadly at the request and state that besides all her powers, there were still limitations to what she can do_. 'Making a giant living snowman is one thing, but building an entire living army is, unfortunately, quite another.'_ Were the exact words she had regrettably spoken once the suggestion was raised.

"Then do you not see—" the first adviser –the one with the bald head– started, but was silenced with a raise of Elsa's hand.

"Your concerns are understandable and I am aware of the risk as well as the consequences. However, I will not just sit here while there are lives on the line. Yes, I may be walking right into a trap, but as Queen, it is my duty to protect my kingdom and its people at all costs. Therefore, if there is a chance that I can help those men safely back, then I will ride out; no matter how high the risk."

All the men remained silent, transfixed by the fire of determination that shone behind the icy orbs that were the Queens eyes. At this point, almost anyone would know that any further objection towards Arendelle's current ruler would be futile. This was, after all, a woman; and once a woman made up her mind, it was irreversible.

"Very well, your Majesty." Oddvar spoke on behalf of the other advisers after a sigh.

Elsa nodded, "Then I believe this meeting is adjourned." She looked toward the Captain of the Guard, "Prepare the horses. We leave the minute the ceasefire ends."

"Yes, your Majesty." And the Captain was swiftly out of the room.

"Queen Elsa." All heads turned toward the Head of Steward as he uttered the two words, "I have one more question."

"Yes, Kai?"

"What of Princess Anna?"

Elsa paused, then after a moment's thought, answered, "I will talk to her personally. Send her to my room."

At that, Kai nodded, "Yes, your Majesty."

"Now if you will all excuse me," Elsa walked towards the entrance of the room, opening the doors, "I have to go prepare myself." And with that, the doors closed behind her.

vvv

Anna of Arendelle had always considered herself an optimistic person, and with reason too. Her optimism was especially shown during the Great Freeze when she, without a doubt, believed that her sister was able to reverse the eternal winter and lift the accidental curse. But now, as she watched the sinking Arendellian ships from her bedroom window, she could feel her hope slowly being chipped away.

When the ships had first set out, Anna had been a little excited, eager to see what her nations navy could do, thinking that they would prevail from the odds held against them; much like in all those adventure stories that she had read when she was younger. But now that the cruel reality had struck, the buzz she had felt three days before now felt like nothing more than burning cinders after a fire.

'_No. I can't lose faith. Not now. It isn't over yet.'_

The Princess sighed in frustration, leaning her elbows on the window pane as she pushed her face into her hands and let them run through her strawberry blonde hair. She hated feeling like this. How was Hans able to get an army like this? To get the peoples support? How could the King of the Southern Isles grant him such a—

And then it hit her. Hit her like a brick to the face. This was Hans; lying, manipulative Hans. He probably did to the King and his people what he did to her: manipulate. Anna could hear the wood creak as she gripped the window sill. _'If I ever see him, I'm gonna-'_

"Princess Anna?"

Said Princess jumped a little as she whirled around, having been startled by the castle's Head of Steward and personal servant/adviser of the Queen.

"Oh. Kai! Hi." Anna gave a little wave as she regained her composure, "Sorry, I didn't hear you enter."

"You have nothing to apologize for, your Highness." Kai bowed slightly, "It is I who must do so. I should have knocked."

"No, no. You don't have to. My door was open anyways." Anna waved dismissively at the older man's formality and smiled her care-free smile at him, showing that no such officialism was needed. After all, he was –and still is– like a second father to the red-headed Princess and the Queen herself. Kai gave a smile in return.

"So, what brings you here?"

At that, the smile graced on the middle-aged man's lips wavered. He cleared his throat, "The Queen wishes to have a private audience with you."

Kai's tone was flat, and he was back to being formal, despite Anna implying that there was no need to just mere seconds ago. This was enough for Arendelle's Princess to know that whatever the Queen wanted to talk about, it was not going to be good news.

"What happened? Is something wrong? Is she okay?" Anna asked with a worried tone, wringing her hands together and taking one anxious step after another as each question left her mouth.

"The Queen is fine." Kai said reassuringly, putting a hand atop Anna's right shoulder in order to stop her nervous advance.

"Then what's wrong?"

"That, I'm afraid, is something you will have to ask her Majesty yourself." Kai stepped aside, allowing Anna the way out of her room.

"Oh…" Anna seemed to be in contemplation as she spoke, with one hand held at her chin, partially covering her mouth as her eyes gazed downwards. Kai felt his eyebrows rise at her uncharacteristic behavior, he was about to call out to her when her eyes shifted up to look at him. She must have seen the slight worry in his features for as soon as they made eye contact, she flashed him another one of her smiles and, after saying "Okay.", left her room in her usual gusto: sprinting out.

Kai walked through the threshold of the door and into the hallway, turning his head in the direction that Anna had left and was able to catch a glimpse of her skirt whipping around the corner before she was gone. He let out a heavy sigh. The conversation to come was not going to be a pleasant one.


End file.
